I am pleased to announce my decision to appoint Ana Mari Cauce, dean of our College of Arts & Sciences, to be the next provost of the University of Washington, effective January 2. As I described in my message a few weeks ago, Dean Cauce is an accomplished scholar, a brilliant teacher, and a seasoned and widely respected administrator at the UW. She has been here virtually her entire career, starting 25 years ago as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and over the course of her career, adding a joint appointment in the Department of American Ethnic Studies, as well as secondary appointments in gender, women & sexuality studies, Latin American studies, and the College of Education. From 1996–2000, she was director of clinical training in the Psychology department, and she also chaired the Dept. of American Ethnic Studies from 1996–1999. From 2000–2002, she served as director of the UW Honors Program and then chaired Psychology from 2002–2005. She served as executive vice provost from 2005–2008 before being appointed dean of Arts & Sciences.

Dean Cauce has been an inspirational teacher and mentor to undergraduate and graduate students alike. In 1999, she received a coveted UW Distinguished Teaching Award. In nominating her for the award, one student commented, “I have never met a faculty member who was more egalitarian and concerned about the welfare of her students.” Another wrote, “The sheer volume of students whose lives she has touched through small classes and personal mentoring is staggering.” Dean Cauce has continued to teach each summer in the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity Transition Program. From each position she has held, Dean Cauce also brings a well-deserved reputation for respecting and practicing shared governance and collaborative decision-making, traits that I value highly and which will be particularly important as we address the issues in front of us.

As you know, over the past several weeks, Dean Cauce has met with a number of groups at the University and held an open public forum so that you could meet her and hear her thoughts about taking on this new responsibility. Reports from those who met with her and attended the forum have been uniformly positive, reinforcing the search committee’s and my estimation that she is the right person for this job. I look forward to working with her in the coming years and leading this great University to even greater heights.

I also want to express on behalf of the entire University our collective thanks to Interim Provost Doug Wadden. He stepped into this role at a very challenging time and did an outstanding job this fall.